Shirt finishing machine



April 3, 1956 w. c. GLOVER, JR 2,740,566

SHIRT FINISHING MACHINE Filed April 2, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN TOR. W/W/am 6'. G/own/n April 3, 1956 Filed April 2, 1951 w. c. GLOVER, JR

SHIRT FINISHING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. W/Y/M/n 6. 6/ouer Jr.

April 3, 1956. w. c. GLOVER, JR

SHIRT FINISHING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 2, 1951 INVENTOR. l l f/fiam C. G/ouer J/.

snurr FINHSHING MACHENE William (I. Glover, in, Lees Summit, Mo assignor to Glover, Incorporated, Kansas City, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application April 2, 1951, Serial No. 218,843

Claims. (Cl. 223-7i)) This invention relates to the cleaning and renovation of garments and has for its primary object the provision of improvements in an expansible support or carrier for the garment to be treated.

A harassing problem is presented to launderers and dry cleaning establishments in the handling of sport shirts because of the relatively large number of differing materials used and the widely different nature of the garments themselves in regard to shape, size and configuration.

It is accordingly the most important object of the present invention to provide a finishing machine for articles of Wear of this character that is universally adaptable for receiving virtually all types, sizes and shapes of sport shirts and to reduce the time normally consumed in finishing the same after laundering or cleaning.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a garment carrier that is adapted to be rotated with the garment mounted thereon to and from a position for receiving a hot fluid blast, the carrier itself being provided with expansible structure that is shiftable to and from a position engaging theshirt and thereby holding and forming the same during the time the garment is disposed to receive the aforesaid fluid blast.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a garment carrier that includes opposed forming and holding elements for the garment, each of which is individually mounted for free swinging movement to an operative position by virtue of engagement with the garment itself.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a garment carrier that includes means for holding the garment taut in two directions, one of the assemblies including a standard having a garment hanger thereon that is reciprocable on the standard and cooperable with clamping devices which, in the case of shirts, are adapted to grip the shirttail and hold the same in place.

Another aim of this invention is to provide a garment finishing machine having novel clamping structure engageable with the shirt along the buttons and buttonholes and including a manually shiftable lever provided with a resilient bar for receiving the clamping means thereof.

Many additional objects include the way in which the transverse forming and molding means is actuated through a toggle joint; the manner of yieldably holding the latter at one end of its path of travel; the way in which the garment hanger is yieldably held at one end of its path of travel; the way in which the exterior clamp is rendered adjustable with respect to stationary structure; and many other more minor objects, all of which will be made clear as the following specification progrosses.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a shirt finish- 2,740,566 Fatented Apr. 3, 1956 ing machine made pursuant to the present invention and showing a shirt operably mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, front elevational view showing the machine in an inoperative condition.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, end elevational view.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on irregular line lV--IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, vertical, cross-sectional view taken on line VV of Fig. 1, with the shirt removed.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on irregular line VI-VI of Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detailed, sectional view similar to Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a detailed, cross-sectional view taken on line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7.

In Figure l of the drawings, there is illustrated a box-like housing 10, within which is a heating coil (not shown) supplied with steam or other heating fluid from any conventional source. A screened aperture (not shown) is provided in one side of the housing 10 and a fan (not shown) associated with the heating coil, is adapted to draw air through the screened inlet. Such air is placed through an elliptical outlet that is formed in the uppermost end of a throat 12 in the top of housing 10.

The operation of the fan is controlled by an electric switch 14 and the blast of air is projected upwardly through a garment such as a shirt illustrated in Fig. l and designated by the numeral 16. The housing 10 is provided with a bearing 18 along one side of the throat 12 that supports a frame, broadly designated by the numeral 2th for rotation on a substantially vertical axis.

Frame 20 includes an upright center partition or panel 22 and a pair of expansible garment carriers, one only of which is illustrated in the drawings and designated broadly by the numeral 24. Each garment carrier 24 has a pair of spaced, horizontal supporting rods 26 forming a part of the frame work 20 that in turn rigidly support intermediate their ends, an elliptical throat 28 having a continuous out-turned flange 30 that is shaped complementally with a similar flange 32 on throat 12 andcircumscribing the outlet opening thereof.

it is to be understood that a carrier Z i is provided on each side respectively of the partition panel 22 and in Fig. 3 of the drawings, a throat 34 only of one of such carriers 24 is illustrated, which throat 34 corresponds to throat 28. The two carriers 2 are identical and one only need be described. The two rods 26 thereof additionally support a bracket 36 within the throat 28 adapted to receive and support an elongated vertical standard 38 upon which is mounted a number of laterally projecting holding means 449 for a relatively narrow, forarninous, rigid strip 42 in spaced parallelism to the standard 38. i

A pair of L-shaped rods 44 project outwardly in opposite directions from the throat member 28 to which they are secured and additionaily held in place by the bracket 36 in substantially perpendicular relationship to the up standing strip. Each rod d4 respectively pivotally carries a T-shaped bar 46 for swinging movement on a substantially horizontal axis as at 48. Bars 46 are yieldably held at one end of their swinging path of travel away from each other by a spring Sti connected thereto and to a hook 52 on a bracket 54 secured to the standard 38 intermediate the ends thereof. Each bar 46 respectively carries a combination. shaping and holding member 56 that is foraniinous throughout and arcuate in transverse crosssection as indicated in Fig. 6 of the drawings. Each member 56 is provided with a lug 58 on its innermost convex face that is pivotally secured as at 60 on' the uppermost end of bar 46, it being seen that the pivotal axes 48 and 60 are all substantially parallel. v

The innermost convextace of the members '56 is also provided with a U-shapedguide 62 that is looped over the corresponding bar 46 below the lug 58. A pair of outwardly projecting tabs 64 is provided on each member'i56 respectively at the lowermost edge thereof.

Swinging movement is imparted to the bars 46 simultaneously against theaction of the springs through the medium of a manually operable handlexfifi that is pivotally securedas at 68 to one of the rods 44 within the confines of throat 28.

A sleeve 76 rotatably mounted on standard 33 is provided with a pairof oppositely extending radial fingers 72 and with a'third finger 74, the latter of which is operably connected With'handle 66 by toggle linkage which includes a bar 76 on handle 66 and swingable therewith, togb'ther witha short link 78 that pivotaliy interconnects bar 76 and finger 74. The bars'46 are connected with arespect-ive finger 72 by a short chain orother coupling 86.

An elongated tube 82 is reciprocably carried by the s'tahdard-Stiadjacent-the uppermost end of the latter and aspringtl l-"coiled about the standard 38' within the tube 82holds 'the latter biased upwardly by virtue of the fact that one end of spring 84 bears against a shoulder 86 on standard 38 and the other end of spring' rests against an in-turned annular flange 83 within tube 82. Spacedap'ar't guide rods 96 carried by the standard 38 above and below the tube 82, serve to stabilize the latter by virtue of bearings 92 on the tube 82 for each rod respectively. The tube 82 carries a foraminous hanger 94 having the shape of the neck and shoulders of shirt 16 and being rigidly secured to the tube 82 in any suitable manner. A latch 96 is pivotally secured to the tube 82 as at 93 for swinging movement to and from a position where its relatively sharp, arcuate edge 100 engages the standard 38 and thereby holds the tube 82 against upward movement under influence of spring 84.

A small spring 102 is provided for the latch 96 to hold the'same biased against the standard 38. Tube 82 also carries a plate 164 that is provided with a T-shaped clamp 106 for shirt 16. Clamp 106 has a pair of spaced-apart projections 1138 that extend through the plate 164 between 2. pair of spaced brackets 110 that are in turn interconnected at the innermost ends thereof by pin 112. Each projection 108 respectively is pivotally secured to its proximal bracket 118 by a pintle not shown for swinging movement in the manner indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 7 of the drawings. Over-center spring means connects pin 112 with a second pin 116 joining the extensions 108.

' The tail of shirt 16 is held clamped adjacent the throat 28 by means of a pair of opposed, elongated plates 118 and 120 of soft, pliable material and mounted on the throat 28 at the uppermost edge thereof, and cooperating bristled heads 122 and 124 respectively. There is provided a pair of the heads 122 each pivotally mounted for swinging movement toward and away from plate 118'and having an over-center spring 126. Likewise, the single head 124 is pivotally mounted for swinging movement toward and away from its plate 120 and has an over-center spring 127. The bristles forming a part of the heads 122 and 124 are relatively stiti, yet of such nature as to have no deleterious effect upon the tail of shirt 16.

An external clamping assembly, broadly designated by the "numeral 128, is provided for the shirt 16 and includes an elongated plate that is transversely curved to conform to the curvature of strip 42 and provided with pliable material on its innermost face. in an operative position, plate 130 is in parallelism vertically with the strip 42 and held in such condition clamped against the shirt 16, which in turn bears against the strip 42 by an elongated, resilient member 132 that is pivotally connected to the plate 130 as at 134 and rigidly secured at its lowermost end to a lever 136. The lever 136 has pivotal connection by rneans of a cross pin 133 connecting with a bracket 140. A rack 142 is formed on "the bracketfildfl for receiving a swingable L-shaped trigger or latch 144. A portion bf latch 144 partially circumscribes a reciprocable rod 146 within an annular groove 148 of the latter, rod 146 being carried by a tube 159 forming a part of the lever 136.

A swingable handle 152 on the tube 150 is provided with a bifurcated extension 154 that rides in an annular groove 156 in rod 146. The entire unit 128 is shiftable toward and away from the strip 42 on the rods 26 to which bracket is secured by virtue of setscrews 158 that are carried by the bracket 140 and releasably engage the rods 26. Prior to placing of garment 16 on one of the carriers 24, the lever 136 is operated to swing the platc'130 away from strip 42 in the manner shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The handle 66 is swung to one end of its path of travel as shown in full lines in Fig. 6 to move the bars 46 toward each other as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3. And, the hanger 94; is moved downwardly toward the lowermost end of its path of travel against the action of spring 84,- it' being noted that latch. 96 need notbe manipulated for this purpose. Shirt. 16 is thereupon placed uponathe hanger 94 and the front panels brought together. adjacent the collar to receive the clamping means 106.

it is to be noted that the clamp 106 can be merely flipped in place by the action of spring114 and when in the position-shown by full lines in Fig. -'7,'the clamp 166 will h'old 'the'shirt 16 tightly against the plate 104.

The shirt 16 is limited in its downward positioning by the tabs 64 and as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the members 56 assume the inciined'position illustrated by the-action of gravity. The operator thereupon flips the bristled heads 122 and 124 in place to clamp the tail of shirt 16 in place against the piates 118-and "12%. v The'operator then releases the latch 26, and the hanger-94 automatically.

moves upwardly under the influence of spring 34-to place the shirt 16 in a taut condition vertically. Level 136 is thereupon pushed toward the shirt 16-until the plate 130 comes into engagement'there'with along the buttons and buttonholes of shirt 16 to'clamp the latter tightly against foraminous strip 42. Continued pushing action on'the lever 136 will provide a yielding grip of plate 130 on'the shirt '16 by virtue ofthe resilient member 132. and swinging movement of lever'136-on pin 138 is prevented by the latch 144 engaging one of the teeth of 'rack142, there being aspring, not shown, for holding the trigger'144 biased toward the rack 142.

The next operation on the part of the operator is to s'wingthe handle66 from the full-line position of Fig. 6 to the dotted lin'e'p'osition shown in thisfigure. Such action swings the fingers 72 and by virtue of. the couplings Si), moves :the bars 46 away from each other on their pivotal axes 48 by action of springs"5t).' As soon asthe members 56 come into engagement with ,the sides of the shirt 16,.Ithe'y will assume a substantially vertical position and thereby yieldably maintain the shirt 16 taut in a horizontal direction. Theoper'ator may thereupon swing'the entire framework within bearing 18 .to a position where the shirt 16 is disposed directly above the outlet openingin throat 12. The hot blast of air emanating from housing 16 will thereuponballoon the shirt 16 and the same will be dried in a short period-of time. It is preferable thatthecoliancufis and buttonhole facing of the shirt be left in a slightly damp condition to facilitate final finishing of the shirt. 2

' Normally, the blast chair will cause the sleeves of the shirt -16 to extend outwardly in a-horizontal condition, but ifedesired, such sleeves may beheld in the position illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings by means of releasable clamps -16), each having a chain 162 thereon that-is secured to a corresponding'rod 44 at a selected. length by means of ahook 164 on the latter. By virtue of the partition panel22, it is possiblefor an operator to posi tion shirt-16 on :oneotthe assemblies 24 when another shirt is being dried above housing 10. Continuous rotational movement of the framework :26 permits, such drying, mounting and YCHIDVhIg OEP-Shfit:16 by asin'gle operator, rendering the entire operation rapid and efiicient. Releasing of the shirt 16 is rapid in that by grasping handle 152 and moving the same toward the tube 150, rod 146 is shifted downwardly to release trigger 144 with respect to rack 142. The entire unit 128 may thereupon be swung away from the shirt 16. The clamping means 122, 124 and 106 may be quickly released by a flipping action and the members 56 will assume the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4 by merely swinging the handle 66 to the full-line position shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an expansible garment carrier, a pair of spaced, elongated bars pivotally mounted at one end of the bars for swinging movement toward and away from each other; a garment-shaping and holding member for each bar respectively, each member being secured solely to its bar at the opposite end of the latter for swinging movement on an axis substantially parallel with the swinging axes of the bars; and structure including oscillatory means between the bars and operably connected thereto for swinging the same in one direction, yieldable means joined with the bars for holding the same biased in the opposite direction, a manually shiftable element, and a toggle joint interconnecting said element and said means for locking the bars at one end of their paths of travel.

2. In an expansible shirt carrier, an upright standard; a hanger assembly reciprocable on the longitudinal axis of the standard near the upper end thereof; resilient means on the standard and engaging the assembly for yieldably biasing the same upwardly toward said upper end of the standard; manually releasable lock means on the assembly for holding the latter against upward movement; clamping means on the carrier adjacent the lower end of the standard and cooperable with said assembly for holding a shirt on the assembly longitudinally taut as the assembly is moved on the standard by said resilient means upon release of said lock means; structure on the carrier and disposed within the shirt when the same is on the assembly, said structure including a pair of opposed forming members movable to and from a position holding the shirt transversely taut; and manually manipulable mechanism coupled with said structure for moving the members to said position.

3. In an expansible garment carrier as set forth in claim 2, wherein is provided a rigid strip mounted on the carrier within the shirt, an opposed plate exteriorly of the shirt for holding the latter closed along the front opening thereof, and manually releasable means connected with the plate for clamping the plate against the strip with the portion of the shirt therebetween.

4. In an expansible shirt carrier, an upright standard; a hanger assembly reciprocable on the longitudinal axis of the standard; resilient means on the standard and engaging the assembly for yieldably biasing the same upwardly on the standard; manually releasable lock means on the assembly and engageable with the standard for holding the assembly against upward movement; and clamping means on the carrier adjacent the lower end of the standard and engageable with the shirt for holding the same as the lock means is released and the assembly moved upwardly on the standard by said resilient means to tension the shirt longitudinally.

5. In a shirt finishing machine, a pair of substantially upright, elongated forming members adapted to receive a shirt in telescoping relationship to the body of the shirt; and means on the machine for shifting the members away from each other to hold the shirt body transversely taut, said means including a support for each member respectively, the supports being between the members and being pivotally mounted for swinging movement in a common plane toward and away from each other, each member being secured solely to its support for swinging movement therewith and relative thereto, whereby the members conform to the shape of the shirt body when the supports are swung away from each other to move the members tightly against the sides of said shirt body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,136,888 Pellegrini Nov. 15, 1938 2,215,748 Wolf et al. Sept. 24, 1940 2,378,565 Locke et al. June 19, 1945 2,412,172 Pettit Dec. 3, 1946 2,425,194 Lendle Aug. 5, 1947 2,429,047 Bowen Oct. 14, 1947 2,454,977 Richa et a1 Nov. 30, 1948 2,460,732 Brenner et al. Feb. 1, 1949 2,592,903 Jackson Apr. 15, 1952 

